Let Your Dreams Create Your Budget- Money Does Not Determine Your Destiny!

It does not take a bank full of money to live an Empowered life.  It takes a spirit that yearns to express its passion and the courage to embody the fullness of your existence.  Finding something that propels you to overcome financial obstacles is a great indication you found your passion. 

I heard the inspirational story of Dani Johnson yesterday.  She was a homeless teen that started a business out of the trunk of her car.  She demonstrated that her dream was bigger than her bank account.  Tyler Perry is another person that overcame homelessness and allowed his dream to direct his course.  He invested his life savings only to lose it.  This unfortunate tragedy still did not deter his yearning to produce plays.  These examples illustrate how the ignited momentum of a dream can overcome the limitations of an empty bank account.

How many of you have stopped dreaming because you allowed cash flow to dictate your destiny?  It is not cash that makes your dream, it is your dream that makes the cash!  When a person has a made up mind to win, no obstacle seems too impossible. 

Each person with breath in their lungs has something special to share.  Including you!  The constraints of limited funds can make you believe your dream is done, but the reality is, a limited budget can fuel your movement towards success.  Bad credit does not have to deter you either!  If you have a solid plan, many people will be willing to invest in your future.

It is important to change your perspective and use situations like limited or no funds work for you!  Here are some things to think about.

1. Focus on where you want to be, not on where you are at.  If your attention is on the glory of your dreams, you are more likely to make decisions today, to get you there tomorrow.  
2. Write a plan!  Putting your hopes and dreams in writing seals them in reality.  You will have a tendency to realign your life towards your goals.  You will become creative and think of innovative ways to make your dreams happen.
3. Get serious!  The things you nurture in life become the biggest things in your life.  For example, if you nurture your bad luck, by thinking and talking about it all the time, you are more likely to have bad luck.  Begin to think about, see and act upon opportunities.  They are all around you!  Yes, even you!
4. How much will it cost?  Begin to write down how much it will cost you to achieve your dream.  What are the things you need to reach your goal?  When you have an active knowledge of where you are going and what it will cost, miraculous things happen.  You begin to make better decisions and find resourceful ways to make money.  Suddenly waiting tables is not humiliating when there is a clear determined end.
5. Be patient!  As you begin to work towards your dream, be patient.  Getting a clear idea, plan and way to finance your endeavor can take time.  If you have to get there before the end of the day you will give up before the real work begins.  Every person that has made it from nothing, made it on patience.
6. Use your imagination wisely.  Set aside some time to visualize your dream.  Every person that has made it to a great goal, spent a lot of time day dreaming!  They pictured how the future would be when their dream was fulfilled.  They thought about the people they would meet and the words they would say.  The saw the clothes they would wear and they solved problems in their fantasies.  God gave us an imagination, use it for good.

I believe dreams can come true and I believe your dreams are only as real as you make them.  Re-kindle your fading expectations and watch your bank account follow!  

"Working on Monday" Part 3- The Strategic Planning Process of Achieving Your Goals

Welcome back to "Working on Monday!"  A lot of material has been covered over the past two weeks and if you are executing the actions plans the shape of your destiny is already  forming.  The focus of "Working on Monday" part three is  bringing things together and creating a strategic plan to achieve your goals. 

"Working on Monday" a Practical Perspective

I have learned about the workplace from the School of Hard Knocks.  My parents were not top business executives and never shared tips about being successful at work.  Their philosophy was get a 'good' job and go to work.  It seemed simple to them because they lived during a time of blue color heaven, but that utopia has gone straight to hell.  I did not have a mentor groom me for corporate success and show me how to move up the ladder.  I only had an inkling in my stomach that kindled a determination inside of me.  I always knew I was capable of more, but I was continually being knocked around like an inexpensive golf ball.  I had to  make a decision that those days were over!

The action plans thus far have been fact finding and information gathering exercises.  Now it is time to develop real steps to make your dreams a reality.  

Action Plan 7:
Reflect on the information that you compiled in action plans one to six.  What have your mistakes taught you?  What are your goals and work history telling you about yourself?

Here are some great definitions of Strategic planning, we are going to be working with this one: Strategic planning "determines the general direction and goals of the Society (in our case personal career) both the short and long term. Strategic planning considers the resources of the Society, the likely behavior of competitors, the direction and pace of technological change, and the projected demands of the marketplace (American Chemistry Society (c))." 

This definition can be very overwhelming but we are going to attack this one step at a time.  I have found that preparation leads to opportunity and "Working on Monday" is not just about returning to work, but living your dreams.  One step at a time you can be living your dreams.

Action Plan 8:
Create actual steps to get to your goals.  For example if one of your goals is being promoted in a year, what would you have to do to achieve this?  Take training classes, move to another company, get licensing or certification, memorize your future job description, actually plan how you are going to reach your goals.

Action Plan 9:
Think about your competition.  Let's go back to the promotion example. How many people are competing for the job?  How will your co-workers react to your new position?  How do you make yourself necessary?  How will you handle jealous people?  Adjust your plans accordingly.

This is a lot of work, but the benefits will change your life.  You will have two weeks to complete these action plans.  Do not get discouraged with the process, hang in there.

"Working on Monday" a Spiritual Perspective

Let's go back to Joseph, Genesis 40 and 41. Joseph was in prison because he was falsely accused of rape.  During his imprisonment two of Pharaoh's servants were placed in jail with Joseph.  They had dreams and Joseph was able to interpret their meaning accurately.  Joseph asked them to tell Pharaoh he helped them and have him removed from jail because he was innocent.  The servants forgot about Joseph until Pharaoh had a dream.  Joseph came before Pharaoh and explained the meaning of his dream.  There was going to be a great famine in the land of Egypt and Joseph told him to prepare during the seven prosperous years that would proceed the famine.  Pharaoh was impressed with the wisdom God gave Joseph.  He appointed him to lead the efforts to save Egypt from the famine.  Joseph went from prisoner to Pharaoh's second in command in one evening. 

Spiritual Lesson Learned from Genesis 40 and 41

1. Use your talents to help others even when you are down on your luck.
2. When you help someone they will give you a good recommendation. 
3. Good leaders will recognize God's blessing upon your work and will honor it with position and pay.
4. Be prepared for all situations, they will lead to your dream job.
5. Tough times do not last forever, have faith that things will change in God's time.

Additional Resources

Sklover Working Wisdom- excellent site with important information about the workplace

Corporate Warriors- strategy for corporate excellence

Vocational Information Center- information about careers and occupations

photos via google images and freepixels.com